Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 is now the biggest-grossing franchise title overseas thanks to a $48.8 million weekend at some 11,800 locations in 73 territories, boosting its foreign gross total to $447.8 million.

The fifth and final title based on Stephenie Meyer’s series of novels about a young woman (Kristen Stewart) in love with a vampire (Robert Pattinson) has accumulated $16.9 million more than the franchise’s previous all-time offshore box office champ, last year’s The TwilightSaga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, which collected $430.9 million.

Breaking Dawn Part 2 dominated a generally lackluster box office session overseas – taking the No. 1 spot for the third consecutive stanza -- with holdover titles for the most part registering diminishing returns. Biggest markets for the franchise film were the U.K. ($49.9 million) and Brazil ($41.6 million).

Finishing No. 2 once again was Sony/MGM’s Skyfall, the 23rd installment of the James Bond franchise, which collected $34 million from 7,600 spots in 84 markets handled by Sony and licensees of co-distributor MGM.

The third outing starring Daniel Craig as 007 has collected a total foreign gross of $623 million of which Sony-handled territories have accounted for $539.3 million.

Since its overseas opening on Oct. 26, Skyfall has accumulated nearly $200 million more that the $432.2 total foreign gross of the previous franchise record holder, 2006’s Casino Royale, also starring Craig.

A No. 1 Japan opening provided $5.9 million from 587 situations, which Sony said was 51% bigger than the opening market gross of 2008’s Quantum of Solace, which grossed a total of $407.7 overseas. A No. 1 bow in South Africa ($800,000 from 128 spots) was also recorded for Skyfall.

Premiering in 46 territories in what distributor Paramount pointedly noted was “a non-holiday weekend,” DreamWorks Animation’s Rise of the Guardians drew a mild-mannered $40 million overall playing at 8,708 locations in 55 markets. The film’s overseas gross total since its Nov. 16 foreign opening is $57 million.

The $145 million fantasy title featuring the voices of Alec Baldwin and Hugh Jackman recorded No. 1 bows in some 20 markets, as per Paramount, the biggest of which was France ($4.7 million at 620 sites) and Mexico ($3.7 million from 577 spot).

Brazil contributed $3.1 million at 397 locales, Italy also generated $3.1 million at 510 situations while the U.K. registered $3 million at 487 sites, sufficient for a No. 3 market ranking. Rise of the Guardians’ “run is expected to continue well into the holiday season and school holidays,” said Paramount. Openings in Israel, Iceland and South Africa are on tap this week.

Making No. 1 debuts in Spain, Singapore and Malaysia was Twentieth Century Fox’s release of Life of Pi, the film version of Yann Martel’s novel about a young castaway and a Bengal tiger.

Directed by Taiwanese-born Ang Lee, the Fox 2000 co-production drew $21.5 million on the weekend overall playing a total of 5,678 in 11 markets, the best of of which were China ($11 million in second round at 3,800 site for a market cume of $38.5 million) and Taiwan ($2.6 million at 165 locations, a rousing 47% increase from the opening weekend).

Despite its relatively limited foreign release, Life of Pi has generated a total of $61.1 million in just two rounds.

Argo, actor-director Ben Affleck’s international thriller from Warner Bros., grossed $4.1 million on the weekend at more than 2,100 screens in 49 territories, representing a relatively benign 38% drop from the prior weekend. Offshore cume stands at $56 million. Best markets are Australia (cume $10.1 million) and France (cume $7.6 million).

Sony Animation’s Hotel Transylvania, a comedy voiced by Adam Sandler and Kevin James about a boy who discovers Dracula is real, grossed $3.5 million at 3,065 sites in 57 markets. The title’s foreign gross total stands at $152.8 accumulated since Sept. 27. A No. 2 Venezuela opening generated $675,000 at 105 sites.

Opening No. 3 in France was Populaire, director Regis Roinsard’s 1950s period comedy, which opened out-of-competition at November’s Rome Film Festival. The Mars distribution release, about the romantic entanglement of a fast-typing secretary, drew an estimated $2.9 million from some 450 screens. The Weinstein Co. has acquired U.S. distribution rights.